Round The World and other travels

Bruce had some family commitments to attend to today, so after a quick breakfast, he drove me to the Old Town area and arranged to pick me up again at around two o'clock in the afternoon. I began by visiting the little museum that now occupies what was once Fr Junipero Serra's San Diego Mission, which essentially founded the city in the 18th Century. From there, I walked downhill to the Old Town proper, a reasonably interesting, but touristy district that was once the town centre and bullfight venue! I had a taco lunch in one of the Mexican restaurants.

At the appointed time, we set off again by car in the direction of Point Loma, just as the weather seemed to be breaking, with a Scottish-style drizzle hanging over everything. As we visited the Cabrillo National Monument, however, conditions once again improved and we were able to enjoy some excellent views down over this rapidly expanding city. We were able to visit the old lighthouse and made some stops along the coast itself. On the way back to Escondido, we took the scenic route, driving north via Torrey Pines, then veering eastwards through Rancho Santa Fe and alongside Lake Hodges.

It was Oscar night, so there was really nothing else for it but to watch all the glitz and glamour unfold on TV, to the accompaniment of pizza and red wine. It was good to see Helen Mirren being crowned The Queen of the occasion. It being Sunday evening, Bruce had that 'back to work' feeling, while I realised that my trip was about to move on once again and, quite apart from anything else, there was the small problem of re-packing to attend to!